


Wouldn't It Be Nice

by FluffyHeretic



Category: Hatoful Kareshi | Hatoful Boyfriend
Genre: Gen, Hatoful Boyfriend Ship Week 2018, M/M, canon shuu meets sweet shuu and the best case scenario ensues, prompt fill: promises, yeah baby you read that ship name right!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-09
Updated: 2018-09-09
Packaged: 2019-07-10 07:56:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15945062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FluffyHeretic/pseuds/FluffyHeretic
Summary: Shuu meets a sickeningly sweet version of himself and is prompted to do some self-reflection before making a decision.





	Wouldn't It Be Nice

Shuu has found that his life runs on promises.

Here’s the rundown if you want to recreate the recipe of disaster at home.

Promise yourself that you’ll work hard and do whatever it takes to acquire your dream job, finally claiming your life as your own after being freed from your abusive parents through their deaths. Sure you got traumatized and terribly injured in the process, but you win some, you lose some.

Lose your childhood entirely to focusing on nothing but school, get hired at seven years old by a research lab connected to a shady political party, and devote yourself to it fully because it’s all your young mind knows.

Promise your dying boss and the only man you’ve come to respect that you’ll do something for his son in his stead because honestly, he was a really good scientist in exchange for being a really bad dad.

Become obsessed with this (since it’s basically your only real motivation in life) to the point that you snap mentally and become completely okay with and even infatuated with murder, going so far as to spend a large chunk of your life working on a genocide plot.

Then have it all ruined and gone to waste when said son and his friends convince you that you actually completely screwed up that promise because honestly, that political party probably molded your young, impressionable mind into exactly who they wanted you to be, like some kind of cult.

In retrospect, giving Ryouta a stuffed animal probably would have been just as good, but hindsight is 20/20 and your regular vision requires a pretty intense eyeglass prescription.

Have a really embarrassing mental breakdown in front of everyone at the idea that your life’s work was for nothing and you screwed up the only thing you genuinely cared about.

Then get shot several times because the birds here really can’t resist kicking a man when he’s down, apparently? Something about some brother you unwittingly pushed to a fiery suicide, whatever, it’s been a long day.

Serve warm.

The point is that promises are kind of a big deal to Iwamine Shuu, but they’ve also caused him a lot of shit, so he’s called them off for good. What’s the point in letting people expect things out of you when you’re just going to ruin your life over it?

And then he’s being prompted to make another promise. Again, to himself.

Well, kind of? It’s his double. A copy, but an imperfect one. This Shuu (get _this_ ) is nice and sweet, and everyone just _loves_ him. He has his life all figured out, doesn’t he? A vicious mockery, that’s what he is.

But then it turns out both Shuus have grown up the same way. _This_ one just struck out on a better path, building a positive, friend-filled life for himself through his own sheer determination and hard work. Now when he’s surrounded by close friends who love him dearly, it’s the result of years spent working to overcome trauma and a ruined childhood.

Meanwhile, Shuu - the murdery one - just went around doing whatever he was told like a goddamn doormat. Right in front of him, he sees the life he that he thought was out of his grasp, but really he… just wasn’t trying hard enough, apparently.

And then this other Shuu, the nice one, has decided to do something a little unexpected.

He reached out.

“You’re a part of me - I’d never leave you behind.”

“If I could do it, you can too.”

“It’s not too late for you.”

“You don’t need to be alone anymore. We can help you.”

So this delightful, saccharine Shuu is imploring mean ol’ murdery Shuu to make one more promise. Just one more.

“Just try?”

It’s so simple. _Try._ That’s all he has to do. No dedication, no killing, no genocide, no shadows. The challenge before him still appears to be the most daunting one yet, but the only thing being asked of him is to… try.

Maybe he can manage that much, at least.

So he takes the hand offered him, and immediately, there’s relief.

“I promise.”

**Author's Note:**

> I know this ended up being platonic but I want you to be rest assured that they can, should, must and WILL kiss


End file.
